Community Heroes Archives - Star Observer

Meet Mitch Brown: The AFL’s First Out & Proud Bisexual Player

Chloe Sargeant — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 02:49:55 +0000

The first thing you notice about Mitch Brown is how kind he is. And not the ‘media-rehearsed’ type of kind — just that down-to-earth, human sort of kind. When we ...

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‘The OG Lesbian Bitch’: Rosie O’Donnell On Her New Show, Common Knowledge

Lydia Jupp — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 02:46:35 +0000

It’s been a big year for Rosie O’Donnell — one of her serial workplace bullies was elected to the presidential office again, and she moved her family across the ocean, ...

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Campaign: Founder of Australia’s First National Gay Mag Reflects On 50 Years of Advocacy

Bryan Hall — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 05:59:17 +0000

To honour and celebrate its 50th anniversary in September 2025, the trailblazing gay magazine Campaign is fondly remembered by its founder, Rod Stringer, as a vital lifeline for a community ...

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So Bloody Proud: Melbourne Chargers Lead The Charge on New Era of LGBTQ+ Blood Donation

Chloe Sargeant — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 02:12:22 +0000

At 7:30am on a chilly winter Monday, a group of burly rugby players in their kits gathered outside the Lifeblood Melbourne Donor Centre on Collins Street. They were there to ...

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MEDEAs 2025: Honouring Doug Lucas, A True Melbourne Drag & Community Legend

Chloe Sargeant — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 02:08:08 +0000

Doug Lucas stands as a living archive of queer joy, and a staunch queer elder in Melbourne’s glittering LGBTQIA+ nightlife. As he prepares to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at ...

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ACON CEO Michael Woodhouse: A Lifetime of Leadership and Community Care

Chloe Sargeant — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 04:05:38 +0000

The appointment of Michael Woodhouse as the Chief Executive Officer of ACON in September 2024 marked both a homecoming and a fresh beginning. With over two decades of leadership in ...

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Siegfried & Roy: The Campest Act Of All Time

Chloe Sargeant — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 23:56:37 +0000

Siegfried & Roy are two names that simply just belong together, don’t they? The combination simply rolls off the tongue, and the proudly ostentatious duo cemented their place in history ...

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Michael Kirby & Johan van Vloten Retire From Bobby Goldsmith Foundation After 22 Years

Naomi Lawrence — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 03:56:23 +0000

The Bobby Goldsmith Foundation has announced the retirement of Michael Kirby and Johan van Vloten as co-patrons after 22 years of dedicated service. After the announcement at BGF’s recent, Red ...

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Cairns Pride Festival Kicks Off This Weekend

Michael James — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 04:31:58 +0000

The Cairns community is set to celebrate their pride festivities this weekend as the Cairns Pride Festival commences a week long celebration from October 4 – 12. Including the Cairns ...

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Marc Brew: Finding Power In Disability And Queerness

Josh Kerwick — Thu, 19 Sep 2024 23:40:16 +0000

Marc Brew was only 20 years old when he was in a horrific car crash, killing the other three people in the car and leaving the young ballet dancer unable ...

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HIV Advocate & Former Mardi Gras President Bill Whittaker Has Passed Away

Chloe Sargeant — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 01:59:21 +0000

Bill Whittaker, who was a longtime and tireless advocate in Australia’s community-led response to HIV, the first CEO of ACON, and the President of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi ...

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THE DISRUPTOR: Star Observer founder, Michael Glynn

Chloe Sargeant — Wed, 03 Jul 2024 02:18:46 +0000

Disruptor. Radical. Firebrand. A ‘lanky American with no shortage of attitude and chutzpah’. All the above were common descriptors for the founder of Star Observer, Michael Glynn. His legacy is ...

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Stonewall Day: “When The Gays Fought Back”

Contributor — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 02:59:24 +0000

Today, June 28, is Stonewall Day – the 55th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. It honours the day in 1969 when a routine police raid on the Stonewall Inn in ...

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Vale Lance Leopard

Dominic O'Grady — Mon, 24 Jun 2024 06:15:15 +0000

Marcus Pierce – known to the community as Lance Leopard – tragically passed away in Brisbane last week, along with his mother Carmel. Lance was a well-known member of Sydney’s ...

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Minus18 Won’t Stay Quiet On Increasing Anti-LGBT Attacks On Queer Formals

Chloe Sargeant — Tue, 18 Jun 2024 03:20:08 +0000

LGBTQI+ youth organisation Minus18 recently shared with followers on social media that anti-LGBT hate groups have been attacking their queer youth formals – and they’ve opened up to Star Observer ...

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Why The NSW Apology For The Criminal History of Homosexuality is So Vitally Important

Chloe Sargeant — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 02:05:54 +0000

On June 6, 2024, the LGBTQI+ community witnessed the formal NSW apology for those who were victims of homosexuality being criminalised. In 1984, the Crimes Amendment Bill decriminalised homosexuality across ...

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Mama Alto: A Storyteller Swathed In Old Hollywood Glam

Josh Kerwick — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 01:10:09 +0000

Mama Alto is a Melbourne cabaret and jazz icon. She is also a storyteller and a transgender activist, who creates spaces allowing LGBTQI+ people the safety to find power in ...

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Newcastle Drag Legend Glenda Jackson Passes Away

Chloe Sargeant — Mon, 27 May 2024 03:02:24 +0000

Newcastle LGBTQI+ community icon and drag legend Glenda (Glen) Jackson has sadly passed away. The news was confirmed by Glen’s friends via her social media. Ian Tufrey posted to Glenda’s ...

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Australian Entertainment Legend Ignatius Jones Dead At 67

Chloe Sargeant — Thu, 09 May 2024 01:39:01 +0000

Australian music legend Ignatius Jones has died at his home in the Philippines. The performer, writer and event director, best known for being the front man of Jimmy and the ...

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Remembering Les Girls Legend Trixie Laumonte

Chloe Sargeant — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 04:17:00 +0000

Former Sydney showgirl and Brisbane icon Trixie Laumonte passed away in Brisbane this month. Tributes have flown in for the former Les Girls performer as many remember her for an ...

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